More than 10 percent of full-time workers in South Korea consider themselves as nonregular employees because of poor working conditions, a report said Monday.According to the report by the Korea Labor Institute, 10.7 percent of South Korea's regular workers believe they are temporary employees owing to long work hours and low pay. Kim Ki-hong, a researcher at the think tank, authored the report based on the 2014 annual survey of 5,000 households on their economic activity, job mobility, income a

South Korean companies listed on the country's main stock market saw their debt ratio inch up in the first quarter of this year from three months earlier, data showed Monday.The debt-to-equity ratio of the 725 listed companies, which close their books in December, came to 116.8 percent at the end of March, up 1.77 percentage points from the end of December, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association. A key measure of financial health and stability, the

South Korea's producer prices rose for a sixth straight month in April on rising oil and raw material prices, central bank data showed Monday.The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- reached 102.58 in April, up 4.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.  The BOK attributed the hike to an increase in oil and raw material prices.The price of Dubai crude -- South Korea's benchmark -- stood at an average of $52.30 in

President Moon Jae-in’s chaebol reform drive became even more clear on Sunday as he named a longtime activist for shareholders’ rights and transparent corporate governance as the chief of the staff for policy, a position he revived for swift changes on overall economic policies. Jang Ha-sung, a business professor at Korea University, is “the right person,” to shift an outdated socio-economic paradigm that long focused on ways to support conglomerates for the nation’

South Korea‘s exports recorded the fastest quarter growth among the world’s leading exporting countries with its first quarter revenue totaling $132.3 billion, up 14.9 percent from the same period last year, according to data from the World Trade Organization on Sunday. Despite a decline in world trade over the past two years, Korea’s exports have recovered rapidly, jumping from the No. 8 spot last year to No. 6 among the top 10 exporting countries ranking for the first quarter

Leaders of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea recently concluded their senior-level “Doorknock” meetings in Washington, during which the delegation met with key officials of the Trump Administration, Congress and policy think tanks to discuss issues regarding Korea-US relations, according to a press release from AmCham on Sunday.During their visit last week, AmCham officials held more than 50 meetings from Monday to Thursday with White House officials and congressional leaders

South Korea's central bank is expected to hold its key rates steady this month due to weak domestic spending, a report by Moody's Analytics said Sunday.The Bank of Korea kept its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 10th consecutive month in April to bolster Asia's fourth-biggest economy. The leading provider of economic analysis, said the BOK will "likely stand pat" on rates at the monetary policy meeting set for Thursday, noting further easing is off the cards as it

South Korea's new Moon Jae-in government is expected to make only small changes to the current merit pay system for all public agency employees instead of scrapping it all together, analysts said Friday.During a campaign rally for the May 9 presidential election, Moon of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea promised to immediately abolish the performance-based wage system should he be elected as the nation's president. Experts, however, said the Moon administration will find it difficult t

Retailers are struggling with weak sales amid unfavorable market conditions industry data showed Friday, with prospects of new government regulations adding to their worries.According to the sales tally, April's numbers by major department stores shrank nearly 2 percent compared to same month last year. Lotte showed a 1.9-percent contraction while sales at Hyundai fell 1.6 percent. The lone increase in sales was in the home appliances sector from the wedding season in spring. Retailers had hoped

Conditions are ripe but detailed policies for implementation remain to be seen, experts say

Kim says curbing cross-shareholdings not a priority

South Korea's state-run cybersecurity agency said Thursday that 17 companies have been struck by "WannaCry" so far, but the spread of the ransomware has slowed.The Korea Internet & Security Agency KISA said it is keeping a watchful eye on the spread of the ransomware, although the situation is presumed to have past its peak.Ransomware refers to malware that locks up files on a computer with encryption until the victims pay a certain amount of money to hackers. The latest instance o

Overseas card spending by South Koreans hit a record high in the first quarter due to a hike in the number of people going overseas, the central bank said Thursday.In the January-March period, overseas card spending amounted to $4.02 billion, up 21.9 percent from $3.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea BOK. From a month earlier, the Q1 tally marked a 7.4-percent increase.Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credit

South Korea's financial regulator on Wednesday eased penalties against the nation's top three life insurers over unpaid suicide insurance benefits. Kyobo Life Insurance was ordered to halt operations for one month, while Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life Insurance received a warning and were both banned from making inroads into new businesses for one year, the Financial Services Commission said.Financial authorities had originally planned to order all three insurers to halt operations for u

Middle-aged South Koreans who live with or support their parents financially feel the heaviest burden when bearing their medical bills, but some saw it as a duty that has to be fulfilled even if means getting loans or giving up on their own savings, a survey said Wednesday.In the poll of 1,000 people in their 40s and 50s who have experience supporting their parents, 48.1 percent answered doing so was a weight on their shoulders, according to the Life Insurance Social Contribution Committee who c